Van Gaal Disappointed With Ribery; Announces Transfer Targets

Louis Van Gaal spoke to Kicker magazine about his Bayern Munich side and what he would like to change to reinforce the side for the coming season. Van Gaal spoke specifically about Franck Ribery as well, who he believes Die Roten fans have not seen the best of yet.

“Bayern pay the players very well, also Ribery. The players have to give everything, him too. I have not seen the best of Ribery yet because he has been injured too often.“

Van Gaal has done well to hold on to Ribery as well as other key players like Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Many of Bayern Munich’s squad have impressed at the World Cup this summer and have attracted many of the biggest clubs in Europe, so for Van Gaal to hold on to those players is certainly a considerable feat.

Van Gaal also spoke about some of the players he has been looking to sign this summer to strengthen his squad for next season.

“I’m always looking at players. I’m looking at [Gregory] van der Wiel, [Fabio] Coentrao and [Martin] Caceres. If we can reinforce ourselves, then we will buy. But I am not a coach who simply buys. I am a coach who wants to and who can improve the players.”

Van Gaal’s targets all seem to be defensive, which means that Van Gaal is starting to lose faith in the aging legs of Daniel Van Buyten and the lack of a left-back at Bayern Munich. Should Munich sign van der Wiel, then Lahm can move back to left-back, but if Coentrao is signed, then Lahm will stay on the right side of the back-four.

Van Gaal also admitted that he will not be extending his contract after it expires, so after this upcoming season we could see another transitionary period at Bayern Munich.

Van Gaal should
(1) sell Gomez and sign a striker such as Torres – he seems to be willing to leave a sinking ship;
(2) sell Altintop and sign a young mid-fielder, versatile, preferably someone who uses both feet, someone like Basel’s Shaqiri or Lyon’s Bastos;
(3) let Demichelis go, his price coefficient is dropping rapidly, and sign a young defender – good marker, strong tackler, and good positioning – plenty of examples to dig up;
(4) Butt, nice spirit and some good qualities, but he’s expired, time to target someone like Reina (Liverpool), or De Geia (Atletico Madrid).
Finally, I think the problem with Bayern’s week scoring is not the players… it’s in Van Gaal’s inability to shape their movement according to his passing style. Klose and Gomez are not your modern type of striker such as Villa or Rooney. While Klose is much more capable of accommodation, Gomez isn’t at all. They don’t run the way Muller or to a lesser extent Olic do… By the time they get that chance.. they’re either not fully expecting it.. or too tired and unfocused trying to grab it.
Watch the Real Madrid vs Dep. La Coruna game and you’ll see what i mean.